Thursday, April 7, 2011

I wouldn't normally bother to mention where we ate lunch while on our mission, but Dope Burger deserves some recognition. Plus, I failed to take a picture of Singles Going Steady, so this image being more pertinent to the post doesn't hurt.

We rolled into Seattle around 1, and made a point to go straight to Singles Going Steady, because the last time we were in Seattle and stopped by, we got there too late and the place was closed. Didn't want to make that mistake again. Plus, we anticipated wanting to spend some serious time in there, so we were budgeting for that, as well. Glad we did. But, before I get to that, let me say my little piece about Dope Burger.

Singles Going Steady is right in the middle of this little strip full of restaurants in Belltown, so it was a perfect place for a mid-day fuel-up. After parking the car and paying the meter, we glanced around, saw a couple of cafes and a burrito joint, and then noticed Dope Burger. We walked up, took a look at the menu hanging in the window, and I immediately noticed that they had a vegetarian burger called the Super Mario. Needless to say, that sealed the deal. Pocaroba and I both had the Mario, and I have to say, it was exquisite. Just look at this beast. Fries were not included, but we got an order to split, and they were great, too. I'll be going back there as soon as I can.

But you're not here to read about my culinary exploits. So: Singles Going Steady. These folks take their punk rock (and the accompanying lifestyle) very seriously. The place is packed with well-organized CDs and records, including a huge 7" section. They also have DVDs, VHS tapes (all either punk/rock-related or cult/psych/horror stuff), and, if you so desire, back patches with which to adorn your stinky, spike-clad jacket. Rarely do you see a store with a dedicated "Crust" section, but these guys have one. And it is not small. We stayed there for at least two hours, and probably could have put in another one if we weren't on a schedule. We walked out with a ton of shit.

Me first, and then Pocaroba.

Dwarves - "Way Out!" 7" (2000)

Dwarves Come Clean-era picture-disc single that features two album cuts and the b-side "There She Goes Again," which is about - you guessed it: feminism. Seriously though, this is a cool little record, and apparently a limited-edition one, but I didn't have to pay much for it. And that's never a bad thing. Apparently I'm just full-on buying Dwarves records now. Yikes.

My Name - "A Woman's Touch" 7" (1991)

I've always thought My Name's track "Hold On" from the Teriyaki Asthma series is a great, great song. But I'm starting to think that none of their other stuff sounds like that. The two tracks on this bad boy (the b-side features the non-album jam, "My Wife") are more slap-bass rock than insanity-fueled mayhem, and I guess that's cool. If nothing else, it's still a blue-vinyl 7" on the C/Z label from the early 90's, and I got it for a buck. Good enough for me.

Icky Joey - "Marron, Marron" 7" (1991)

Speaking of bands who have awesome songs on the Teriyaki Asthma compilation... It's amazing that I didn't have this 7" yet, because I love the shit out of Icky Joey. There's actually an interesting story behind this record, which I'll let Pocaroba tell in his section. As for the music, there's four songs on this thing, and three of them are on the band's sole album, Pooh. Same versions, even. The other one, the title track, is not on anything except this 7". And I'm pretty sure they meant "Maroon."

V/A - Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. II 7" (1989)

Speaking of Teriyaki Asthma and My Name... Jesus. Not sure how I had such a C/Z day at this place. This is, in fact, the 7" that has My Name's "Hold On" on it, as well as tracks from Amorphous Head (the slightly ass-rock "Lonely Lonely"), Hullabaloo (the grungetastic drawl that is "Kill Your Parents"), and the mysterious Pitbull Babysitter, who, from what I can tell, used this comp to release their only song ever, the instrumental funk-bass/metal-shred guitar number, "The Head Talks Cheese." Red vinyl and in sweet shape.

Crackerbash - "Jasper" 7" (1991)

Hey, I actually bought a single not on C/Z! Though it's on eMpTy, and that's almost the same thing. The important thing is that Crackerbash is a cool-ass band, and "Jasper" is arguably their defining song. Why I didn't already have this 7" I don't know, but I own the shit out of it now. Features two non-album b-sides ("Aluminum Siding " and "Leaving") that are both solid tunes, and a recording quality that matches the photocopied look of the cover. It's good stuff.

Talking Heads - The 1975 CBS Demo Session (2010)

This is a weird one. It's clearly a bootleg, but it seems pretty new (that 2010 date I got from discogs makes sense). The cover appears to be hand-silkscreened, and on the back, it says "This fan club LP is limited to 500 copies. This is number ____. Mine has "242" written in paint pen on the line. I'm wondering if this is a reproduction of an old bootleg or something? Whatever it is, the music is awesome. These are the sessions that "Sugar on My Tongue" and a few other early cuts that ended up on Sand in the Vaseline came from. Mint green vinyl.

Fugazi - Fugazi (1988)

I've had Margin Walker on vinyl and 13 Songs on CD forever, but I've never owned a proper copy of this on wax. I'd been waiting to find an original (not the remastered version) used, and I finally did. Took longer than I thought it would. Dischord is always repressing their stuff, so it's not like this is rare, but it's getting tougher to find the standard pressings of these records. Glad I finally found this one. Though I think I still need to get Repeater and Instrument.

All right. On to what Mr. Pocaroba picked up for himself:

Fitz of Depression - Fitz of Depression 7" (1989)

Wow, I loved Singles Going Steady. Tons of awesome 45s at very friendly prices. This is Fitz' very first 45 from 1989 and I got it for 6 bucks, which was the most I payed for a single 45 on our trip. Fitz of Depression never struck me as a super popular band back in the 90s but their stuff is somewhat difficult to come by these days. They are basically a high-tempo indie rock band, although they would probably consider themselves garage rock or some nonsense like that. Either way, finally I can say that I own a song called "Tons of Poop." My future children will be so proud.

V/A - Pigs Suck 2x7" (1995)

This is probably my very favorite find of the whole trip. It was one of those rare moments where you're flipping through the records and your heart does the little flutter, that rare flutter when you find something you really, really, really want. A friend of mine bought this in high school and let me borrow it for a while back in the day. I taped it and used to listen to it constantly. This got me into Mankind? and also had songs by Capitalist Casualties, Masskontroll, F.Y.P., and Spazz, all bands who I was, and still am, really into. Capitalist Casualties' rendition of "Greedy Bastards" is in my top 10 punk songs of all-time list. It is astounding. I have honestly never seen this compilation in person since I gave it back to my friend in 1996. Needless to say I jumped on it 15 years later. The 12 dollar price tag felt steep at the time (I am a monumental cheapskate) but I got over it as soon as I got it outside.

The Peechees - "Cup of Glory" 7" (1994)

I used to eyeball this in the old Kill Rock Stars catalogs as I always loved the cover artwork and found the Peechees to be a serviceable outfit. Hopefully this will be a serviceable 45. Either way, it will look cool to whoever is flipping through my 45s. Which is basically nobody.

The Stuck-Ups - "Last Chance" 7" (2003)

This is on my old friend Jonny Black Rebel's Jonny Cat Records so I couldn't say no. I also thought the band name was pretty sweet. I'm assuming it's some dirty Portland Satyricon punk.

Icky Joey - "Marron, Marron" 7" (1991)

This is a true story. Before our trip Wock and I both declared our intentions on buying this 45, which neither of us had ever seen in our lives. As luck would have it, I found one here for 2 bucks. I gloated. Then, about 10 minutes later, I found another. Further inspection showed that one of them was on red vinyl. Needless to say, I went home with the red vinyl copy and Wock was lucky enough to get the black. We are both winners. If you have never listened to Icky Joey then you are really missing out. I have always found their sole album "Pooh" to be way better than it should be.

Junkyard Dogs - "Good Livin'" 7" (1994)

This one was purely for aesthetic purposes. I have the songs but Wock talked me into this lovely picture disc 45 using the 5 dollar price tag as a selling point. Now that I'm really looking at it I have to thank him. It is pretty awesome and a fascinating footnote in 90s NW rock history. The B-side has 2 songs that were not on the vinyl release but were included on the CD. What sense does that make?

Godzik Pink - "Nursery Lime" 7" (1998)

I saw this band years ago and was fascinated by them. They play really odd instrumental tunes that don't seem to work but do. Musician-wise, they are extremely proficient and I just never understood how they came up with these songs. I bought a demo tape of theirs which had a song called "He Hits Her." I later titled a song of my own "She Hits Him" as a play on this. This 45 has a version of "He Hits Her" and 3 songs I have never heard before. And its on Sympathy for the Record Industry. Color me stoked.

Volumen - "Erika" 7" (2004)

I bought this simply because it was on the Wantage label and it was 2 bucks. End of story.

Mr. California and the State Police - Untitled 7" (2003)

I bought a record of this guy's on our last trip to Portland and figured it was fate to find another one. Mr. California creates casio-based punk tunes (which is apparently a thing), usually topping out at 20 seconds, that feature some sort of offensive content. I'll take it. The inside claims it is 201 of 300. Nice. There is actually a song on here called "Untitled," which technically makes it the title track. How clever. The promise of a 20 second casio-punk song called "Hockey Fights" has me on the edge of my seat.

The Duloks - "(I'm Gonna Follow Your) Star Trail" 7" (2007)

I picked this up due to the fact that I was going 45 crazy and the cover art was too fascinating to pass up. I had no idea what the music was going to sound like. I looked it up online and there is a video for the song. There are drums, a poorly played casio keyboard, and a singer, old school-Olympia style (although apparently they're from England). I also found out that this 45 is some sort of limited thing with only 300 out there which makes it even better. It's in a pretty sturdy cardboard case and comes with a little comic about the band. Not bad for 2 bucks.

Kent Brockman - Crustcoreviolence 7" (2000)

Let's be honest. I bought this because it is a hardcore punk 45 by a band called Kent Brockman. The packaging is pretty fancy for a punk band with an odd gatefold design which opens to the 45. Not bad for a little punk record from Germany. Oh yeah, did I mention that they are a German punk band called Kent Brockman? That makes the whole enterprise much more interesting to me for some reason. They lyrics seem to be the run-of-the-mill angry punk stuff, though, which is odd to me given their silly name. Oh, those Krauts!

Defiance - Burn 7" (1995)

Defiance are a mainstay on the Portland punk scene and I was glad to finally pick up something of theirs. It is on Consensus Reality (the label of the guy from my heroes Masskontroll) which really sweetened the deal. It has a lyric sheet and pictures of spiky-haired guys looking scummy. It is also contains lyrics about throwing bricks through rich people's windows. I can't wait to get angry to this.

Starved and Delirious/Svart Snö - Split 7" (1997)

Starved and Delirious are a 90's female-fronted Portland punk band that I already have another 45 of. I had picked up that one because I recognized their name from my old crappy high school punk band's show flyer. We had played a show in Eugene in '96 that had a bunch of other groups on the bill (it was a 2-day event). I have no recollection of them playing but always thought their name was pretty awesome. Or maybe they played on day 2 which would explain me not remembering. Who knows? Anyways, seeing the Consensus Reality label on this just made me feel even better about myself.

The Öbliteräted - Insanity 7" (1997)

I was already in the mood for old NW punk and when I saw the Consensus Reality label I went for it. Holy mackerel I liked Singles Going Steady.

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The Purest Form of Stallionism.

My name's Wockenfuss. I live in Portland and make rap music and collect records. This blog used to be me writing about my music collection, but now it's mostly me writing about how I'm collecting more records, and where I'm going when I do it. Usually it's places in Portland, but I make a point to check out record stores when I'm out of town, too.

There is no free music here, but if there's something on this site that you're just dying to hear and it's out of print and you literally cannot find a way to buy it, I might be able to help you out. Email me here.